Rear wiper won't return to parked position

I'm just outside of warranty and now the rear wiper on my 08 2.5i Outback seems to have issues returning to its parked position. It just stops where ever it is in its rotation when you turn to stalk switch to off. When I select intermittent or spray the rear window it operates as normal, but the relay clicks it off out of position.

 

Anyone else had this problem and come up with a solution? Between this silly problem and a very creaky driver's seat just outside of warranty after no warranty claims I'm a little annoyed.

My '05 LGT just started doing this. Any luck figuring out a fix?

 

-Rob

it's the motor failing. Has happened to all my previous Acuras.

Mine has been doing it for a year or so. I have learned how to throw the switch off at the right time to get it to stop in the off position.

 

I don't use mine that often so it's not a big thing.

I ran into this problem on my wagon and have replaced the wiper switch/stalk and wipr motor. It did not fix the problem. My dealership and some folks on Outback forums have reportedly found the problem to be the wires rubbing bare at the joint in the rear hatch. My dealership says they have fixed several of similar occurrences but one needs to completely remove the rubber grommet holding all the wires to fix the wires. Just need to find the time to get in there to fix it.

Like MaxCap...I've learned to turn off the wiper in the parked position.

 

Cheers,

Mike

I've got this issue too. On "intermittent", the rear wiper goes about 7/8 of 1 cycle.

 

I took the rear motor/gearbox assembly apart to inspect. Looked fine. In fact, there's nothing in there that would explain this behavior. I might buy there was a problem with the motor if it didn't work at all, or always stopped in the same place, but it doesn't. It stops at 7/8, then 3/4, then 5/8,.....

 

The problem must be with whatever is sending the "intermittent" signal. The duration of the "on" signal is now too short.

 

Anybody know what's responsible for sending the "intermittent" "in" signal? Is there a timer relay or something?

Do all gt's come with the rear wiper? I dont have one..

I found some more threads on this topic. One pointed me to the link below. Sounds like work hardened/fatigued/broken wires where they go into the hatch may be the issue. I'll inspect tomorrow - it's cold dark and wet out there now.

 

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/73-outback-6-cylinder/20718-rear-wiper-does-not-return-park-home-position.html

Do all gt's come with the rear wiper? I dont have one..

 

 

 

Only the wagons, in this country.

 

I told a buddy (Audi guy) about this problem last year, he mumbled something about the limit switch. I guess some of the Audi wagons have the same issue.

There is a park switch inside the motor to tell it where to park.

There is a park switch inside the motor to tell it where to park.

 

 

Yea... that's what he said.

Sounds like the broken wire where it passes from the body into the rear hatch is the issue. Has anyone repaired or replaced this wire? How much of the interior is it necessary to remove to get access to the failed wire?

I finally fixed mine thanks to the information in this thread and the one in the link. For me the Yellow-Green wire broke inside the rubber grommet between the hatch and body. The break wasn't visible until I pulled on the wire and it popped out. I simply fished a small section of wire through the grommet and soldered it all back together. I took some pics along the way. I will put this in the walkthrough section in the near future. I did not need to remove any trim to get to the break.

 

-Rob

LOLZ i always thought this was a normal thing. I just got good at timing it right. My 01 outback returns to 'parked' position!

Sounds like the broken wire where it passes from the body into the rear hatch is the issue. Has anyone repaired or replaced this wire? How much of the interior is it necessary to remove to get access to the failed wire?

 

I had mine repaired by a buddy's buddy shop, he charged me $100.00. I posted on here somewhere about it. I had a bunch of wires in there broken or about to break, He fixed all of them. I'm not sure what he had to do.

 

I did ask the parts guy at the dealer, he said they see a few of them and he's heard they charge about $300-400 to fix.

I just finished completely redoing the wiring through my passenger side rubber grommet. I had two broken wires (rear defrost and wiper) and three more looking to break through soon. I can attribute the work hardening and subsequent failure to two things, saving every penny possible on wiring gauge, and someone wrapping a junction in the wiring harness too tightly. I had a few other parts of the hatch harness poorly routed, like the spade connection for the hatch light that works off the latch. I'm really very disappointed that this sort of crap is getting through quality control.

 

Oh and it's not the most difficult repair to do, just be sure to keep track of which wire connects to which wire then run 14 wires through at once lubed with soap and spend a few hours soldering, taping and heat shrinking. I now have a rear hatch that fully functions.

 

Am I pissed that I had to tear apart the hatch on a car that had the failure at 35 thousand miles? Yes, you're damn right I am. Considering I've got a wheel bearing that's failing at 61 thousand miles as well I'm not too hot about Subaru's warranty.

 

If yours hasn't failed completely yet, or you can just repair a few conductors (wires), you can get some much needed slack by snipping back the electrical tape in the roof where the hatch harness splices into the rear harness.

 

Also, shame on all of the mechanics who do nothing more than replace components, what happened to proper trouble shooting skills?